Nabokov Studies

Lolita is an ambiguous object of desire, whose "twofold nature," halfway between woman and child, constantly escapes Humbert's attempts to "fix once for all the perilous magic of nymphets." Trying to fix the unfixable in words, Humbert develops different strategies to articulate his desire. Unable to provide a complete and stable picture of his beloved, he relies highly on metonymy, rehearsing body fragments and playing on ellipses. The nymphet's body is even semiotized, as Humbert repeatedly focuses on signs, markings inscribed onto her flesh. These signs dot her body and establish it as a text in an utterly original manner: Lolita and Lolita are indeed the same.